Earth's Tides

Master Earth's Tides! Learn about moon gravity, spring & neap tides with this engaging 6th-grade science worksheet.

Tides Read the article and look at diagram to complete the fill in the blank activity below. Tides are the daily rise and fall of water at any given place. The main cause of tides is the pull of the moon's gravity on Earth. The second reason for tides on Earth is the pull of the Sun's gravity. Even though the moon is much smaller than the sun, its effect is much greater because it is closer to the Earth than the sun. The moon's pull is about twicethat of the sun.High tides occur when the water reaches its highest level in a day. Low tides occur when the water reaches its lowest level in a day. In most places the water level rises and falls twice a day. So, there are two high tides and to low tides approximately every 24 hours. The difference between high and low tides is called tidal range.Water on the side of Earth facing the moon is pulled the hardest by the moon's gravity, This causes a bulge of water on that side of Earth. That bulge is a high tide. There is also a bulge of water on the opposite side of Earth, due to the moon pulling on the land of Earth itself. With water bulging on two sides of Earth, there's less water left in between. This creates low tides on the other two sides of the planet. Spring and Neap Tide DiagramOn the diagram below, label the following vocabulary words: sun neap tide earth first quarter full moon new moon spring tide last quarter Neap tide Spring tide Last quarter First Quarter Earth Sun Sun Earth New Moon Full Moon Sort the descriptions for spring and neap tides. Spring Tides sun and moon work together occur when Earth, sun, and moon are all aligned occur during new and full moons largest difference between high and low tide Neap Tides result of moon and sun working against each other's pull occur when Earth, sun, and moon are in a right angle occur during quarter moons smallest difference between high and low tide